Everyday Heroes: Chris Martin is Making Strides

A driven businessman who kept depression at bay through work and long-distance running has been discovering surprising benefits in downtime since being injured.

By Lori Hile

Chris Martin was always running in some way or another.

On any given evening, you might find the 38-year-old literally pounding the pavement for hours on the sidewalks and paths near his home in Wilmington, North Carolina. At other times you might catch him flash across the finish line in an ultra-marathon or cross-country relay far from home.

On weekdays, you’d have to track him down in one of the six offices his company owns around the world, pounding out proposals and attending to business.

Until recently, you would rarely find him relaxing. That was when suffering could sneak in.

“Anytime I didn’t have something to focus on … there was this deep void,” reflects Chris, who calls himself “the most driven person you’ll know.”

“Somehow, it’s like the sky isn’t as blue and the flowers don’t smell. When you’re in a deep depressive state, your senses are like nothing,” he says.

Chris began treatment with medication and therapy when he was officially diagnosed with depression in 2003, at age 25. He suspects the trigger was a series of traumatic events around that time, including his brother’s death and the end of his first marriage.

Suppressed memories of his turbulent childhood began to resurface, memories of living with a financially strapped mother who struggled with her own debilitating depression and substance abuse.

Chris traces his intense drive to a determination to give his own children what he lacked growing up. Although drive and depression may seem like odd bedfellows, escaping into work can be a “maladaptive coping mechanism”—a not entirely positive way to smother emotional distress.

As he puts it, “Unless I have big goals, I’ll get caught up in that cycle where nothing can quench the thirst of that depression.”

Chris describes himself as a “serial entrepreneur,” with worldly success to show for it, but his constant striving exacted a price.

“There’s a reason I’ve been married three times,” admits Chris, who has three children and one stepchild ranging in age from 5 to 15. “There were times where I was out of town for two or three days every week, which isn’t great for a marriage.”

In 2013, as president and chief operating officer of a multi-state emergency medical services company, Chris found himself working 80-plus-hour weeks orchestrating a massive restructuring. He remembers “sitting at my desk and feeling sick. It hit me all of a sudden that I had sacrificed too much.”

He resigned in a last-ditch attempt to save his marriage, but it was too little, too late. However, it was the catalyst that led to him co-founding Syncordia Technologies and Healthcare Solutions Corp., where he is chief strategy officer.

The position allows him flexibility to take time off for family and activities he’s passionate about, such as raising mental health awareness. It’s a good fit, since the company assists behavioral health care organizations through technology that tracks patient appointments and payments.

Obstacle Course

Chris began running for fun about 10 years ago, with 5Ks, marathons, and ultra-marathons soon to follow. He found that the longer he ran, the better he felt.

“Your body gets into a state like a spiritual cleansing… You reach a point where all the stresses, thoughts, negativity melt away,” he explains.

Even running has side effects, however. It cuts into family time—and can be cut off abruptly by injury.

Chris learned that the hard way last summer, when he helped launch the inaugural Icebreaker Run, a relay from California to Virginia to raise awareness and challenge stigma. Modeling the mantra that “mental health doesn’t rest,” he was part of a six-person team running in rotation 24 hours a day for 24 days.

Despite the crazy demands of the event—running a daily marathon while using his “off time” to assist with logistical support—Chris was prepared to succeed “no matter what.” Then, during his leg on Day 7, disaster struck.

He was savoring the desert scenery and late-night solitude when three wild dogs started chasing him. In his attempt to escape, Chris sprinted for more than a half-mile, damaging his Achilles tendon. He kept up with his scheduled runs for several days before seeking medical advice that forced him to drop out of the relay.

The setback left him “absolutely crushed.” He had trained for hundreds of hours and to Chris, not completing the relay meant no results for his efforts.

He stayed on as a crew member and continued to participate in mental health forums along the route. Realizing he was still able to make a difference through outreach provided some balm, but the next few months were a difficult period of readjustment and recovery.

Time and reflection have provided some philosophical perspective.

“The reality is that I wasn’t there to be a great runner,” he says now. “I was there to raise awareness, and what better way than to show, ‘Hey, I was as prepared as you possibly could be, and then there’s always that proverbial wild dog that can try to throw you off course.’“

A Better Me

Since then, Chris has been reassessing the course of his life in general—how he balances work and family, how to “make myself a better me.”

Unable to get his usual boost from long-distance running, he has had to find new tools to support his physical and mental well-being. He began walking to the beach or park, listening to audio books and podcasts to cleanse his mental palate, and researching non-work topics of interest.

Although he used to regard such activities as indulgences, Chris has found that his “me time” leaves him less stressed and edgy, which “ends up helping my relationships. And generally I end up being more productive and creative at work,” he reports.

He also credits his wife, Kimberly, for helping his emotional equilibrium. The pair, who married in March 2016, have much in common—including a love of running and family members with a history of substance abuse.

“There’s this innate understanding. It’s much easier for someone that has dealt with mental illness to understand you. Maybe I’ll start a mental health dating site like Match.com,” Chris quips.

Easing off the accelerator yielded surprising results when Chris took part in the American Heroes Run in Colorado, which commemorates 9/11. Chris had signed up for the event’s 9-hour, 11-minute run as a way to support a friend and raise awareness for post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I thought I would run for an hour or two, then be a cheerleader,” he explains. Instead, he kept going and did 48 miles.

“My body may not have been as well-trained as it could have been, but I gave myself time, both mentally and physically, to recuperate.”

He pauses, then adds, “That’s a good life lesson—that I can relax a little bit and still accomplish things in life.”

* * * * *

Chris’s Coping Tips

Veg out: Martin converted to a plant-based, whole-food diet several years ago, cutting out processed products and sugar. He says that’s had a “dramatic impact” on stabilizing his mood.

Natural high: When he’s not running, Martin hits the rowing machine or walks “to get those endorphins going.” His exercise routine also builds his self-esteem, he says: “You feel better about yourself for being healthy.”

Dial it back. Martin schedules at least 30 minutes each day to decompress—for example, by listening to classical music on his back porch.

Related

Doctor’s appointments are short, and it’s difficult to cover everything you need. Take control, plan and make sure your doctor hears all of your concerns. Meeting with a clinician for the first, or even the eighth, time can feel extremely intimidating. It’s difficult to sum up your life history and mental health in a...

A friend’s sudden, and unexplained, departure from your life can cause you to—unnecessarily—reevaluate your own self-worth. Lola (not her real name) was my first friend in a strange new world. My husband and I had moved from the comforts of our North Carolinian home to the icy plains of Minnesota—she and her husband had...

After finding support in a group for men with depression, Al Levin brings the truths of male depression to a wider online audience. By Denise Mann, MS Al Levin, MEd, spent most of his career educating others. When depression waylaid him for the first time at age 42, he became the student and sought...

Fashion entrepreneur Claire Mazur talks about dealing with depression through running, work-life balance, and meditating, and speaks out on how to break down stigma. Claire Mazur, 34, is co-founder Of a Kind, an online business that sells pieces from emerging fashion designers and tells the designers’ backstories. She has been listed in Forbes’ “30...